In August, Brazil’s two biggest cities hosted an INTA Young Practitioners/Trademark Administrators (YP/TMA) event. Read on for some impressions from São Paulo.

On August 26, 2016, just two days after the reception in Rio de Janeiro, young Brazilian practitioners (YPs) had the chance to attend another INTA YP/TMA reception, and approximately 40 did so. This time, the location was Brazil’s biggest city, São Paulo, at the office of Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão. The event was co-hosted by firms from three neighboring countries: Berkemeyer Attorneys & Counselors (Paraguay), Espinosa Bellido Abogados (Peru), and Palacio & Asociados (Argentina).

As in Rio, Carolina Calheiros (Rolim, Mietzel, Wohlnick & Calheiros LLP) kicked off the event with a short presentation on INTA.

The event then turned to the main item on its program: a roundtable discussion on the challenges faced by young practitioners in the IP world, with a special focus on Latin America. Participants had been encouraged to submit questions beforehand, and many of them did, raising issues related to beginning a career, starting to network, attending events, and dealing with the changing landscape of IP in the 21st century.

Francisco Espinosa (Espinosa Bellido Abogados) opened the roundtable by talking about studying in the area of IP and sharing his experience of obtaining an LL.M. in the United States. His views of studying abroad as a valuable academic and networking experience were corroborated by José Eduardo Pieri (Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão), who also highlighted the importance of knowing where you are going and what you are applying for, in order to avoid future frustrations. Pointing to the wide variety of available courses, José Eduardo stressed that one should thoroughly research the particular study program and make sure that the degree awarded will be valid in one’s home country.

On the same subject, Diego Palacio (Palacio & Asociados) advised all young professionals willing to study abroad to start saving money early, and to make sure that their firms were aware of their plans, as their employers might help with tuition fees or put them in contact with local firms in case work experience would also be desired.

Working on relationships and earning people’s trust was the subject taken up by Viviana Rolón (Berkemeyer Attorneys & Counselors), who gave the audience some good advice in this area. Viviana also provided some best practices to follow when attending INTA’s meetings and conferences and how to prepare for such events.

As a wrap-up to the event, the already traditional “trademark quiz” split the audience in five very competitive groups that had to answer questions on IP Law from the co hosting Latin American countries. The much-desired prize for the winners contained some delicious treats from Argentina, Peru, and Paraguay.

Prompted for feedback during the final drinks and finger food reception, the participants showed themselves to be very satisfied with the content of the event and its practical approach to the subjects discussed. “It was very useful, and the tips were very relevant to me,” stated Guillermo Benítez (Zacarías & Fernández, Paraguay). Luís Henrique Portilho de Azevedo (Dannemann Siemsen Bigler & Ipanema Moreira) added that “the event was successful in showing young professionals how to behave in international meetings, and the trademarks quiz was enlightening for people working in this field.”